Presently he found standing amid the brave warriors who had followed him from Tricca; thereon he went up to him and said, Son" of Aesculapius, KingAgamemnon says you are to come and see Menelaus immediately.

When he saw this Agamemnon rebuked them and said, Son" of Peteos, and you other, steeped in cunning, heart of guile, why stand you here cowering and waiting on others? You two should be of all men foremost when there is hard fighting to be done, for you are ever foremost to accept my invitation when we councillors of the Achaeans are holding feast.

Ulysses glared at him and answered, Son" of Atreus, what are you talking about? How can you say that we are slack? When the Achaeans are in full fight with the Trojans, you shall see, if you care to do so, that the father of Telemachus will join battle with the foremost of them.

Son" of Tydeus," he said, "why stand you cowering here upon the brink of battle? Tydeus did not shrink thus, but was ever ahead of his men when leading them on against the foe so, at least, say they that saw him in battle, for I never set eyes upon him myself.

Son" of Atreus, and other chieftains, inasmuch as many of the Achaeans are now dead, whose blood Mars has shed by the banks of the Scamander, and their souls have gone down to the house of Hades, it will be well when morning comes that we should cease fighting; we will then wheel our dead together with Oxen and Mules and burn them not far from the ships, that when we sail hence we may take the bones of our comrades home to their children.

Son" of Atreus," he said, "and princes of the Achaean host, Priam and the other noble Trojans have sent me to tell you the saying of Alexandrus through whom this quarrel has come about, if so be that you may find it acceptable.

Then he was afraid and said to Diomed, Son" of Tydeus, turn your Horses in flight; see you not that the hand of Jove is against you? To day he vouchsafes victory to Hector; to morrow, if it so please him, he will again grant it to ourselves; no man, however brave, may thwart the purpose of Jove, for he is far stronger than any.

Son" of Tydeus," replied Nestor, "what mean you? Though Hector say that you are a coward the Trojans and Dardanians will not believe him, nor yet the wives of the mighty warriors whom you have laid low.

Thus he spoke, and the sons of the Achaeans for a long while sat sorrowful there, but they all held their peace, till at last Diomed of the loud battle cry made answer saying, Son" of Atreus, I will chide your folly, as is my right in council.

Son" of Tydeus," said he, "in war your prowess is beyond question, and in council you excel all who are of your own years; no one of the Achaeans can make light of what you say nor gainsay it, but you have not yet come to the end of the whole matter.

With this he led them forward, and bade them sit on seats covered with purple rugs; then he said to Patroclus who was close by him, Son" of Menoetius, set a larger bowl upon the table, mix less water with the wine, and give every man his cup, for these are very dear friends, who are now under my roof.

"My good friend, when your father Peleus sent you from Phthia to Agamemnon, did he not charge you saying, Son, Minerva and Juno will make you strong if they choose, but check your high temper, for the better part is in goodwill.

All had then been lost and no help for it, and the Achaeans would have fled pell mell to their ships, had not Ulysses cried out to Diomed, Son" of Tydeus, what has happened to us that we thus forget our prowess? Come, my good fellow, stand by my side and help me, we shall be shamed for ever if Hector takes the ships.

Ulysses looked fiercely at him and said, Son" of Atreus, what are you talking about? Wretch, you should have commanded some other and baser army, and not been ruler over us to whom Jove has allotted a life of hard fighting from youth to old age, till we every one of us perish.

He took Agamemnon s right hand in his own and said, Son" of Atreus, I take it Achilles is glad now that he sees the Achaeans routed and slain, for he is utterly without remorse may he come to a bad end and heaven confound him.

When the Achaeans were got together Achilles rose and said, Son" of Atreus, surely it would have been better alike for both you and me, when we two were in such high anger about Briseis, surely it would have been better, had Diana s arrow slain her at the ships on the day when I took her after having sacked Lyrnessus.

Hector feared him not and answered, Son" of Peleus, think not that your words can scare me as though I were a child; I too if I will can brag and talk unseemly; I know that you are a mighty warrior, mightier by far than I, nevertheless the issue lies in the the lap of heaven whether I, worse man though I be, may not slay you with my spear, for this too has been found keen ere now.

The sun would have gone down upon their mourning had not Achilles presently said to Agamemnon, Son" of Atreus, for it is to you that the people will give ear, there is a time to mourn and a time to cease from mourning; bid the people now leave the pyre and set about getting their dinners: we, to whom the dead is dearest, will see to what is wanted here, and let the other princes also stay by me.

He sat upright and said, Son" of Atreus, and all other princes of the Achaeans, first pour red wine everywhere upon the fire and quench it; let us then gather the bones of Patroclus son of Menoetius, singling them out with care; they are easily found, for they lie in the middle of the pyre, while all else, both men and Horses, has been thrown in a heap and burned at the outer edge.

But Achilles spoke saying, Son" of Atreus, we know how far you excel all others both in power and in throwing the javelin; take the cauldron back with you to your ships, but if it so please you, let us give the spear to Meriones; this at least is what I should myself wish.